Arrival

In the blink of an eye, three months had passed. It was now June of Marineford Calendar 1512.

In an uninhabited area in the south of the small island, Xia Qiu rested quietly underwater.

By then, Xia Qiu had been on the island for one year and three months. He had grown from nearly eighteen meters to thirty meters.

His weight had risen from fifty tons to around one hundred and eighty tons.

As his body weight increased, his strength multiplied.

Four months ago, when he attacked a pirate ship, a single blow had snapped its keel and torn open a massive crack, sinking the vessel.

If he had not wanted to force the pirates into the water, that one strike could have shattered the ship entirely.

Xia Qiu had already learned to alternate between his left and right brain hemispheres while sleeping. Of course, that did not mean he was completely awake. One side remained in deep sleep while the other stayed in a groggy state, allowing him to control his breathing, swim slowly, and remain alert to danger around him.

Combined with Xia Qiu's fragmented sleeping pattern, this greatly reduced the chance of him encountering danger.

At the same time, Xia Qiu's Sonar System had improved as well. After feeding on dolphins again, his sensitivity increased once more, becoming nearly comparable to theirs.

Besides that, Xia Qiu had also fed on several whales that came near the island, broadening the range of his sound-wave frequencies. He could now emit relatively low-frequency ultrasonic waves, and his detection range had expanded considerably.

Within a range of two thousand meters, Xia Qiu could detect any object larger than twenty meters.

This allowed Xia Qiu to guard against attacks from large creatures to a certain extent.

In other words, Xia Qiu had become even safer.

Over the past year or so, Xia Qiu had not faced any threats. He spent his days in peaceful isolation, growing little by little.

Life was boring.

All he could do was eat and rest, day after day.

There was no one he could talk to. He lived alone in solitude.

For Xia Qiu, that was an immense torment.

If not for the constant urge to eat driving him onward, he would have long since been unable to endure it.

I'm hungry again.

Xia Qiu sighed, left his resting place, and swam into the distance.

He released ultrasonic waves, searching for creatures farther away.

Xia Qiu now ate around three tons in a single meal, so he needed fish over ten meters long.

Therefore, Xia Qiu ignored the fish around him that were only seven or eight meters long and continued swimming farther out.

"Six hundred meters away."

Xia Qiu locked onto a direction and discovered a fish twelve meters long, immediately charging toward it.

Xia Qiu emitted low-frequency ultrasonic waves. These waves could travel farther and detect targets up to two thousand meters away.

He kept track of its position and rushed until he was only fifty meters away.

The next moment, the fish fled from him at tremendous speed.

Did it discover me?

Xia Qiu guessed that it also possessed some kind of sensory ability and had detected the vibrations caused by his approach, dodging in advance.

But noticing him did not mean it could escape.

Xia Qiu accelerated again and charged after it.

The distance between them rapidly closed. Below a hundred meters of water, it was difficult for Xia Qiu to see it from afar. Only when he came within ten meters did he vaguely make out its form.

It was a whale shark.

Whale sharks were the largest sharks, not whales. They had five pairs of gills, and each of their ten filtering pads contained more than three hundred rows of teeth.

Adult whale sharks ranged from nine to twelve meters in length, while the largest could exceed twenty meters.

Whale sharks were relatively gentle and rarely attacked humans. They would even turn over when they encountered divers, allowing them to clean their bellies.

They were also the best proof for many people that not all sharks bit humans.

Whale sharks primarily fed by filter-feeding, consuming plankton, algae, krill, and free-swimming organisms. Sardines, anchovies, tuna, and mackerel were all among their food sources.

This whale shark was twelve meters long and weighed roughly four tons, enough for Xia Qiu to have a full meal.

Xia Qiu swiftly pursued it, drawing closer and closer. Just as he was about to bite it, the sound waves he had released echoed back, catching another figure.

That figure was at least three kilometers away from Xia Qiu. It was more than ten meters long and exceptionally tall.

What the hell is that?

Xia Qiu jolted in fright and halted for a moment. The whale shark escaped his jaws and fled into the distance.

So big.

The size revealed by the echolocation was unprecedentedly enormous. It was not merely long—it was also tall.

Its height was at least half its length.

It was not a fish.

A fish wouldn't have such proportions.

What was it?

Xia Qiu slowly approached it. The closer he got, the clearer his perception became.

It was at least sixty meters long and thirty to forty meters tall.

Such a massive creature made Xia Qiu's heart tremble.

It was too big.

It weighed at least four times as much as he did.

Xia Qiu had no idea what it was. Using echolocation alone, he could only tell that its shape somewhat resembled a seal.

A sea beast?

Xia Qiu made a guess, but did not continue approaching, afraid of disturbing it.

Although Xia Qiu was powerful, far stronger than creatures of the same size, and was confident he could directly withstand a sea fish around fifty meters long—

This creature was different. It was sixty meters long, over thirty meters tall, and weighed at least four times as much as he did.

For such a huge creature, its strength alone surpassed his.

With his consciousness, it was not impossible for him to fight it.

But there was no need to fight.

He did not have a hundred percent chance of victory, much less any chance of killing it without a scratch.

It was not his prey either. Killing it would only mean one full meal, while the remaining corpse would benefit other sea fish.

It was dangerous, it was not prey, and there was no reason to provoke it. It was better not to get closer.

With that thought, Xia Qiu remained still and observed its movements.

It left.

The enormous creature lingered for a moment before swimming into the distance and vanishing beyond his detection range.

Xia Qiu let out a breath, and the tension in his heart eased somewhat.

At the same time, however, he felt a lingering fear. The sea beast had been only five kilometers from his habitat.

That was more or less within his usual range of activity.

If he had not used echolocation and encountered it, a fierce battle would have been unavoidable.

The water here was deep enough to accommodate enormous marine creatures, so there was no guarantee that more monsters like that would not appear.

He would need to be more careful in the future.

Thinking this, Xia Qiu quietly waited for quite some time before beginning to hunt.

In the East China Sea, several Fish-Men stood on the deck of a huge pirate ship. At their head was a blue-skinned Fish-Man with a long sawtoothed nose. Looking out over the sea before him, he spread his arms and laughed. "We've finally arrived in the East China Sea."

"Lord Arlong, are we starting from here?" Beside him, a burly Fish-Man's eyes gleamed with fervor.

"That's right. We start here."

Arlong revealed a savage expression and said, "Starting with the East China Sea, we'll rule these waters, enslave humanity, and build a powerful Fish-Man empire."

"B-but we promised Boss Jinbe that we wouldn't harm humans." Behind Arlong, an Octopus Fish-Man with six tentacles could not help speaking up.

"Jinbe?"

Arlong snorted, his face darkening. "Why would I listen to someone like Jinbe, who is willing to submit to humans?"

At that, Arlong bared his teeth in a cruel smile. "Besides, I'm not harming humans. I'm merely giving them back the suffering humans inflicted upon Fish-Men."